Thursday, September 27, 2007

Review of Turbulence Training: The Program that Promises Maximum Fat Loss in Minimum Workout Time

Turbulence Training promises fast fat loss results for men and women who don't have a lot of time for exercise. This is a bold promise, and the workouts promise maximum results in only three workouts per week.

Let's take a look at this claim, and see if it really measures up!

Before we get to the program, let's take a look at the expert behind the workouts. I've come across Craig Ballantyne's name many times in popular fitness magazines such as Men's Health and Men's Fitness, and even in Oxygen and Shape magazines. So the program is clearly put together by a trusted fitness expert.

Craig's experience goes back to the mid-nineties, in both the gym and in the research lab. He's actually led research trials on sport supplements, strength training, and cardiovascular training.

Plus, Craig has been a strength coach and has worked with hundreds of clients in thousands of training sessions. This is a unique, and thorough background, so its not surprising he's come up with a new training system for fat loss.

In fact, Craig's articles are always pretty hard on traditional aerobic cardio workouts. So if you're looking for new ways to spend 30 or 60-minutes doing cardio, then this program is not for you. But if you only have 45 minutes to workout, a couple of times per week, and you have access to only a bench, dumbells, and an exercise ball, then you'll like what Craig has for you here.

Now one of the biggest questions about the program is simply, "What is Turbulence Training?" Well according to Craig, its the combination of resistance training and interval training used to boost your metabolism so that your body burns calories and fat between workouts. He says, "Cardio doesn't boost your metabolism after exercise. Only strength training and interval training do that - while you work, sleep, and eat - your body will be shedding fat."

Fortunately, Craig's unique system of bodyweight exercises, dumbell exercises, and interval training can all be done at home, with minimal equipment (if you are really strong, it might help to have a chinup bar). So again, if you are one of those people who loves machines, or cardio equipment, or marathon workouts, then this program is not for you.

Frankly, I've used the program myself and recommended to many others. Why? Because no one has time for long workouts! That's why. After an eight or ten hour workday, a round-trip commute of 90 minutes, and spending time with my family, I just don't have time to do another 90 minute workout every day of the week.

In fact, I either get up early and do the workout before work, or I do it just before bed. This workout is perfect for busy men and women. But its not the type of routine that is going to turn anyone into a pro bodybuilder. If you want maximum muscle and want to bulk up, try another one of Craig's programs. But the Turbulence Training system is best for burning fat without sacrificing muscle - so you end up lean, defined, chiseled and toned.

And its fun! So many workouts are boring (i.e. long cardio) or repetitive (i.e. doing the same bodybuilding workout over and over again). But Turbulence Training uses a lot of unique (but not fluffy) exercises, including some cool, killer bodyweight moves that will make you more athletic and increase your functional and core strength - again, all with minimal equipment needs.

But, I am even able to recommend this program to friends who are just starting out, because Craig has put together a 6-week introductory program, and a 4-week intermediate program in addition to the 16-week advanced training phase (PLUS, the Turbulence Training program comes with a massive amount of bonus workouts for muscle building, bodyweight only, advanced fat loss, and even a female specific bonus).

But each workout progresses into the next. He's used all of these workouts with hundreds of clients - so they are safe and effective. Sure, you can get other programs that leave you smashed and puking after the first workout, but Turbulence Training is not like that. Soreness doesn't matter, only results matter! And you are in expert hands with Turbulence Training, and Men's Health expert, Craig Ballantyne.

Craig's Turbulence Training also contains a contract -- basically, your pledge to being committed to the program. It also includes an ebook on Nutrition Guidelines from expert, Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D., and an extensive Q&A section, a 21-Healthy Habit Building Plan, plus the complete Turbulence Training workouts for beginner, intermediate and advanced level individuals.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

My Collegues at the Healthy Back Institute are having a FREE Tele-seminar this tomorrow night on Sciatica. These guys are the are going to share some cutting edge information that you donot want to miss. If you or someone you know has ever suffered from back pain, you have got to tune in. The call is absolutelyfree. Please go to the following page to reserve your spot.

If you are interested in getting more muscular, there is a new muscle building product that you must check out, by Vince DelMonte that is taking the fitness industry by storm. It's the same system Vince used to defeat the worst 'skinny genetics' (Vince used to be a long distance runner) in the world and pack on a clean, 41-pound or rock-hard granite-like muscle in just under 24 weeks.

It the same system that earned him 1st place at the Canadian Fitness Model Championships in Windsor Ontario in November 2005.

The same system that has been featured numerous times at Bodybuilding.com and in the international fitness magazine, Maximum Fitness.

Therefore, when Vince decides to reveal his muscle building secrets then you just have to take a look.

Vince's program takes a unique approach to frequency and intensity which allows you gain lots of muscle mass very quickly and without getting a pot belly in the process.

This program allows you to do it all without taking dangerous steroids that destroy your liver, taking expensive supplements that dry out your wallet and without sacrificing the life you want to live by only a few intense training hours per week.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

I am always on the look for new ideas and new ways to keep myself and my subscribers motivated. I just finished listening to the "Lose Fat, Not Faith" CDs. I can safely say that these 5 CDs contain more information presented in a clear and friendly manner, than any fitness/self improvement audio I've ever listened to. This program helps to make sense out of the technical that is discussed. Actually, it's explained so well that the technical data doesn't seem to be technical data at all.

A lot of the information presented is common sense type stuff. Things that most overweight Americans have heard before. Jeremy presents all of this information in a manner that I understood and actually believed that I could succeed with.

I thought that the CD on nutrition was outstanding. Jeremy brings a no-nonsense approach to the world of nutrition. He not only dispels some of the bad information that is floating around out there, but he doesn't just poke verbal jabs at them, he explains them, the basis of them and why these fads/ideas don't work. At least long term.

Just when I was about to declare the nutrition CD by far my favorite, I listened to CD 5 - "The Zen of Releasing Fat". Wow, Jeremy hits it out of the ballpark with this one. If everyone who needs to lose fat is honest with themselves, they will admit that releasing fat is not completely a physical challenge. There are many mental and emotional issues wrapped up with it.

For many people, unless you are prepared to deal with the entire package, you are doomed for failure or at least relapse. Jeremy speaks on this topic by discussing the demons he had to overcome and the demons he has seen his clients fight and offers some logical help in identifying and overcoming your own demons.

This CD set is a MUST for anyone who has struggled with weight, diet, or self image. It really gets you thinking about the WHY you want to lose weight, which is the most important step.Click below to learn more about this awesome compilation...

Why Some People Can Drink Alcohol Without Getting FatBy Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCSwww.BurnTheFat.com

Alcohol has been implicated as a factor that may hurt your efforts to lose body fat. Whether alcohol is "fattening" has been a very controversial subject because technically speaking, alcohol is NOT stored as fat; it is oxidized ahead of other fuels.

Whether moderate drinking is healthy has also been a subject of controversy. Many studies show that cardiovascular health benefits are associated with moderate beer or wine drinking (which has been of particular interest lately with reservatrol in the news so much), while other studies show improved insulin sensitivity. Some experts however, say that alcohol has no place in a fitness lifestyle.

A recent study published in the journal Obesity adds new findings to our knowledge about alcohol, insulin resistance and abdominal obesity. Analysis of the results as compared to other studies also gives us some insights into why some people seem to drink and get fat while others seem to drink and get thin!

The truth about the beer belly phenomenon

This new study, by Ulf Riserus and Erik Inglesson, was based on the Swedish Uppsala Longitudinal cohort. The researchers found that alcohol intake in older men did not improve insulin sensitivity, which contradicted their own hypothesis and numerous previous studies.

They also said there was a very "robust" association between alcohol intake, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio. They pointed out that a high alcohol intake, especially hard liquor, was closely associated with abdominal body fat, not just overall body mass.

Abdominal fat accumulation is not just a cosmetic problem, it can be a serious health risk. Abdominal fat, also known as "android" or "central" obesity, increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, glucose intolerance and elevated insulin levels.

Many other studies have also found a link between alcohol intake and abdominal fat, but this too has been controversial. A study that was widely publicized by the BBC in 2003 dismissed the concept of the “beer belly.”

Nevertheless, it looks like there’s some scientific support to it after all (or at least a “liquor belly” according to this newer study).

Hormones may be strongly involved because high alcohol intake has been shown to decrease blood testosterone in men, and also increase cortisol levels, which can lead to visceral fat accumulation.

Why is there so much controversy? Why the discrepancy in research findings about alcohol’s influence on obesity, abdominal fat, and insulin sensitivity?

Well, here’s the real story of why some people don’t get fat when they drink:

Friday, September 14, 2007

Foods That Burn Fat: The Top 10 Lists Anytime the topic of my blogs, articles or newsletters has turned to my own personal grocery shopping list, there has always been a spike in interest. It seems that many people are not only curious about what foods a natural bodybuilder eats to maintain single digit body fat, but they also want to be taken by the hand and told exactly what foods to eat themselves while on fat-burning or muscle building programs. That’s why I decided to put together four separate “top 10” lists of healthy foods that burn fat and build muscle.

Fish Oil May Help Burn Fat, But It's No Fat-Burning Miracle Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere for the last several years, you’ve probably heard about the health benefits of eating fatty fish or taking fish oil supplements. Well, it looks like you might be able to add fat loss alongside the other benefits like heart, blood, brain, skin and joint health (and the rest of the list, which is too long to print here). However, the fat loss benefit is not as much as some people want you to believe…

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Have you ever started a weight loss program, made great results at the beginning and then everything fell apart? You started a resistance training routine, you were eating right, doing your cardio and lost on average a pound or two a week You finally found the answer to succeeding at weight loss, or so you thought. Now a couple of months later, the scale refuses to budge. You were doing everything right. So what happened?

Well, this is another case of something very simple that can be corrected easily. Its something you may have never put into action though if you didn’t take the time to seek out answers from someone who knew a little bit more about weight loss and exercise then you do. Here is a big pat on the back for having a problem and doing some research to look for a solution.

Lets take this step by step so you understand exactly what might have happened. First, look back and see when and where you WERE getting results. It was at the beginning. This is because at that time, the weights and exercise were a challenge for you so your body had to change and adapt. These factors are what caused your body to lose weight. This is called S.A.I.D. to personal trainers. S.A.I.D. is and acronym for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. This basically means that when your body runs into a physical stress that it is not used to, it will change so that what you are doing will not be so hard to handle the next time you run into it.

Its normal for results to slow down or stop if you are not on a program that changes things up either in the actual routine or the stresses that it causes. Changes in your weight loss program bring back the intensity. Intensity is what causes further changes to your body.

Intensity in your weight loss program can be caused by using more weight, using the same weight but completing the routine faster, or using the same weight but making each repetition take longer to complete. These are just some examples.

Often when I train females, they believe that using heavier weights will make them get too muscular or that they will get bigger. This belief keeps them from taking the actual course of action that would bring them quickly to their goals. In actual fact, because of the hormonal differences between men and women, muscle gains do not come extremely fast for women. What happens is that they increase their metabolism, lose a lot of fat and tighten up the saggy parts, leaving them with a very toned body. If at any time the amount of body fat lost is too much, it is very easy to cut back on the weight or drop some fat burning cardio in order to soften up a little if that is what you are after.

This is a simple truth that has been show to work over and over again in countless numbers of my female clients where weight loss was the goal.

The intensity factor also applies to your cardio. You must increase how hard you work on that every couple of weeks also. Again, the intensity can be from doing the same distance in less time, doing more incline on the treadmill or simply changing the machine or activity that you like to do. Remember that in order to lose a pound of fat a week, you should shoot for burning off 3500 calories over a 7-day period. 3500 calories is how many calories are in a pound of fat. When you crunch the numbers most people are shocked to realize that they don’t burn around 500 calories a day in exercise. This little fact is one of the many that when changed can quickly get you back on the path to becoming one of those weight loss success stories you always read about.

I hope this helps you out and if you would like to use the program that I designed that takes care of all these factors for you, please visit http://www.healthybiz2000.com/rxsports/ptbook.htm. Its only $39.95 and you get exercise descriptions, your diet, exercise program and a ton more. It’s the complete package if you want to lose weight fast the healthy and correct way.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Getting Results From The Simple Push Up Exercise

The push up exercise has been a favorite of the military, police, football and fitness crowd pretty much since time began. Most often when push ups are called for, someone did something wrong and push ups for some reason seem to be the answer. While it is quite fun as an instructor to dish out the push up like candies to a fat kid, push ups should also be used in your body conditioning workout because they flat out work wonders.

Used correctly the push up is an awesome exercise for conditioning as well as strength gains. The reason for this is the scalability of the exercise and the lack of equipment needed to get great results.

When we talk about scalability of the push ups exercise, we are talking about how to start of with an easy version and escalate into a more advanced version, as the body is able to cope. This is the basis of all training for results. Continually imposed increasing demands on the body.

On the easy end of the spectrum of push up exercises we have the standard military pushup. If this is not attainable, you can always do them on your knees first. Once the standard push up exercise can be performed easily, it is only a matter of elevating the feet bit by bit to increase the resistance.

Before you move on to the more advanced versions, make sure that your standard push ups are perfect. This means touching the floor with the body as a solid straight line. Full depth and full extension in a controlled manner. No chopped reps here!

The biggest mistakes made when doing the push up exercise are:

Reaching for the floor with the head before body.Letting the belly hit first.Having the elbows out very wide and high by the head.Jacking the bum up like in the yoga downward dog at the top.Not touching at the bottom.Chopping your reps short from full extension.Dive bombing - Coming down and forward on an angle.

Once you can do 50 honest, strict and controlled push ups, it's time to move on.

On the other end of difficulty scale there is the handstand push up. This particular version of the push up has varying degrees of difficulty also. The holy grail of push up exercises is the handstand push up unsupported. No wall, no spotter, just you, the air and a whole lot of athletic ability.

For those that state a lack of equipment as a barrier to getting stronger, bigger and more athletic, the handstand push up exercise is a clean crisp slap in the back of the head. It's gymnastics answer to the expensive, less functional and less effective midnight infomercials about the "wonder-whatever".

Here is a simple workout that will get you puffing and pumping based around the standard push up exercise.

Do eight sets of as many push ups as you can in 20 seconds. Rest only 10 seconds between each of the eight sets. Keep it strict and enjoy!

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Friday, September 07, 2007

Unruly insulin levels can royally screw up your physique. Specific foods affect insulin levels. However, what may be more important is knowing what specific ingredients in foods mess with insulin. You can lift all day until you are blue in the head, but eating specific foods and food ingredients could be holding you back from resembling the chiseled Statue of David.

First a Little Background

Insulin is THE most anabolic hormone in the body. Insulin’s anabolic properties make it rather important when thinking about packing on muscle. However, too much insulin could cause you to resemble Professor Klump from The Nutty Professor. Here’s how it works.

Insulin secretion occurs via the ?-cells in the pancreas with the consumption and digestion of food; particularly in response to carbohydrate-rich foods. Over stimulation of the ?-cells, characterized by diets consistently high in simple sugars (e.g., a “soda and Twinkie” type diet) may lead to insulin resistance overtime (probably because that kind of diet is usually accompanied by weight gain). Basically, when you consume high sugar foods, blood glucose is chronically elevated and insulin is continually released to control blood glucose levels (not allowing them to go too high).

Chronically elevated insulin levels decreases the bodies ability to burn fat, increases triglycerides, decreases HDL levels (the good cholesterol) and causes excessive peroxidation (the stuff we pay lots of money to avoid by buying eating lots of fruits and vegetables and antioxidant supplements)!

Therefore, dietary control and exercise are imperative since both help regulate glucose. In addition to the umbrella classification of high sugar foods, there are two specific ingredients that need to be considered: fructose and more specifically high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Both are found in a wide variety of foods, many of which may surprise you.

Fructose and insulin

Here’s the scoop. Fructose is a monosaccharide (one sugar) that is often referred to as “fruit sugar” because it is the primary carbohydrate in most fruits. Fructose is also the primary sugar in honey and makes up half the carbohydrate in sucrose (table sugar). The interesting thing about fructose is that it does not stimulate insulin secretion and does not require insulin to be transported into cells, like other carbohydrates.

After all the talk about the importance of controlling insulin levels, it appears as though a lack of insulin secretion from fructose consumption may be a good thing. However, insulin also controls the fate of another hormone, leptin, so as you’ll see, its release is necessary.

Leptin tells your body to stop eating when it’s full. Essentially, leptin signals the brain to stop sending hunger signals because the “tank is full.” Since fructose doesn’t stimulate insulin, there will be no subsequent increase in leptin levels, and no feeling of satiety (i.e., you’ll keep eating and eating).

Thursday, September 06, 2007

How many of you have heard from your clients or friends, “I am a hard gainer and no matter how much I eat, I can’t gain weight”? Maybe that is how you feel yourself. Or I’m sure many of you want to lose fat and maybe build a little muscle too. Even if your weight training goals are just to remain healthy and maintain your current physique, there are certain “rules” you should follow. Therefore, I thought I would compile a list of what I’ll call the “Ten Commandments of Training.”

1. Eat a balanced diet. Some of you may think I am a bit biased since I’m a dietitian; however, training is at best half the battle. If your goal is to pack on slabs of muscle, you can lift until the gym staff has to scrape you off the floor with the trash, but without refueling those muscles, your efforts are futile. It is actually after training, when you allow your muscles to rest, that they will grow. The best way to refuel and recover your muscles is by eating a sufficient amount of calories, high quality carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Similarly, if fat loss is your goal, it will be next to impossible to be successful if you change nothing about your eating habits and only increase your exercise. Not monitoring your food intake while training hard is like riding a bicycle with one flat tire; sure, you may get to your destination, but there will be ton of wasted effort.

2. Keep a food log. This may be a barrier for many of you, but how do you plan to monitor your changes without writing them down and seeing what can be altered? This journal does not have to be detailed; record the portion sizes and foods you eat and beverages you drink, the calories, carbohydrate, protein and fats each contain. This will allow you to see what foods or food groups you may be missing or limited in, what foods you can eliminate or reduce if your goal is to lose weight, or just closely monitor your intake if you are trying to gain muscle and limit fat gain.

3. Keep a training log. Similar to the above recommendation, you can’t effectively track your progress if you don’t know what you’re doing. You may learn from recording and watching your physique that a particular exercise or series of exercise is effective and maybe some that is not. Similarly, it will help you track your progress to ensure you are on track.

4. Vary your routine. To be ultimately successful in the gym, you need to vary your workouts. In fact, there is no other aspect of your life that is stagnant—why should the gym be any different? However, this probably describes many of you: Monday is chest day, in which you start with 3 sets of 10 reps on flat bench, followed by 3 sets of 10 on incline press, and maybe 3 sets of 10 for dumbbell fly’s. You then move to triceps, where you do pushdowns and maybe lying tricep extension. The rest of the week follows suit. You always pair back and biceps together, legs are granted their own day, and shoulders fit somewhere in the mix. Mix it up-do a different body part(s) on Monday’s, do dips instead of flat bench, pushups on a stability ball, 4 sets of 5, whatever. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.

5. Rest!!! When was the last time you took some time off from training? Go ahead, get out of the weight room for a week. I’ll rarely tell you to be a couch potato, but here’s your opportunity. OK, fine, don’t undo what you’ve worked so hard at by sitting with the remote in hand and a bag of chips at your side for a week straight, but being active doesn’t mean you must live in the weight room. Remember, growth happens during recovery, not when you’re in the gym. If you hit the weights day in a day out, you are never giving your body a chance to recover. A week off now and then is great for the body and I bet you’ll come back stronger.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Fueling your body takes effort. It’s much easier to run out the door without breakfast, stop at a fast food restaurant for lunch, and throw some money in a vending machine for a snack loaded with refined carbohydrates and trans fat rather than taking the time to plan ahead so you are putting high nutrient foods in your “tank,” so to speak. Think about the last time you were on a long trip; did you take some healthy options or did you rely on the myriad of “health foods” that rest areas or planes offer? Maybe at work you’ve been burning the candle at both ends and not doing what it takes to perform at your peak; either physically or mentally. We’ve all probably found ourselves in these types of situations. Fortunately there are options.

When talking with folks about weight loss, weight gain, or just health, I always recommend they are prepared for anything. You never know when you’re going to be driving home from work for a seemingly normal day to go home and eat dinner, when you get a flat. Or maybe there is unexpected traffic from an accident. Next thing you know, you get home one hour later than expected, and you’re now so hungry you’ll eat anything that gets in the way—even if it’s the door to get into the house.

Like meal replacement powders, nutrition bars should be part of your “safety” arsenal and are great as snacks to keep you going in the middle of the day. Plugging in a blender in your car or on an airplane doesn’t always work so well, but pulling a bar out of your glove compartment does. Of course real food is the best option for all meals of the day; I’m not recommending replacing all your real foods with snack bars, but on occasion they can surely make life easier (and healthier) if you compare them to other available options. The only problem with many “nutrition” bars is that they are nothing more than a well-packaged candy bar, that tastes like you’re choking down chocolate covered chalk. So how do you pick a bar that suits your needs?

First or all, just like with foods, take a look at the nutrition label. Remember that the order of ingredients dictates how much of each is in the product. The first ingredient on the label is the one that is most abundant in the product and the further down the list, the less that is actually in there. If trying to gain some lean body mass, pick a bar that provides a good amount of total calories and is a good source of high quality protein. Bars are notoriously high in low quality protein; if hydrolyzed gelatin is one of the first ingredients, put the bar back. Let’s dissect some of the most popular ingredients in many bars.

Here’s a very brief synopsis of a few proteins you may see gracing the sides of bars.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Most individuals do not eat like they are supposed to. Out of those individuals 95% of them don’t realize that by making 10 simple changes to their eating lifestyle they can improve their diet by 90% along with improving their health and overall well-being.

Apply these changes to your diet today and you too will be experiencing an increased benefit to your health, probable weight loss, a leaner body, and likely improvements to your blood profile. This all equals a longer healthier life.

Now let’s get started so you can benefit from these 10 simple changes that everyone can make immediately.

1. Hydration: Is there a differenceConsume Green Tea or Water instead of calorie filled drinks such as soft drinks. Green Tea has many health benefits and is a powerful antioxidant. You should be drinking 1ml of non-caffeinated fluid for every calorie that you consume. This works out between (8-12) 8oz glasses of Green Tea or Water a day.

2. Benefits of Fiber Recommend consuming 25-35 grams of fiber per day. Since the average diet contains only 14 grams we could all use more fiber. Fiber will help satisfy hunger pangs as well as control insulin and blood sugar levels which tend to promote fat storage when they are elevated. By simply eating at least 1 serving of fruit and vegetables at every meal should get you to the goal of 25-35 grams of fiber per day.

3. The Importance of ProteinEat lean protein sources which include; lean beef, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, salmon, low-fat cottage cheese and other low-fat dairy products, and whey protein powders, at every meal. This will also help control insulin levels and satisfy hunger pangs which tend to promote fat storage. You will find yourself naturally eating less food throughout the day if you eat some type of lean protein at every meal.

4. Frequent Meals: Why?Eat 4-6 small meals day a day instead of the usual 2-3 large meals. Eating frequently will help regulate and boost your metabolism to burn more calories. By also including your protein and vegetables at these meals you will tend to eat less overall thereby reducing your calorie intake.

Notice

Nothing stated or presented here is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider if you have any questions regarding a medical condition, your diet, nutritional supplements, an exercise regimen, or any other matter related to your health and well-being. See Health Disclaimer for more information.

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